BURLINGTON COUNTY, N.J. (KYW Newsradio) — A Burlington County nonprofit organization that helps people impacted by domestic violence wants to make Christmas brighter. Now they're holding a toy drive and need your help.
"To me, it's more than just a toy," said Nick Luciano, founder and CEO of Safe Way Out. "It's a symbol of hope you're going to smile, because you're going to get a present that you like."
Luciano said bringing smiles to the faces of children on Christmas Day is the goal of his organization's toy fundraiser. "We're currently helping four families," he shared.
But he admitted the need is much bigger than that. Since 2018 the nonprofit organization has been helping people escape abusive relationships. When that happens right in the middle of the holiday season, Luciano said, "The mom can't buy presents. She's not even thinking about buying presents with everything going on. The kids are traumatized."
Related
So the organization has created an Amazon wishlist where anyone can pick items on the website and Safe Way Out will deliver them to these families.
"You can purchase a toy that we put up there for one of these kids," explained Luciano. "It's a little bit late, it's getting to that time. If you want to donate, we also have a fundraiser for the family so the moms can buy the gifts themselves or maybe pay a bill a two during Christmas."